Shou Tucker (ショウ・タッカー, Shō Takkā; ; ; ) also known as the Sewing-Life Alchemist (綴命の錬金術師, Teimei no Renkinjutsushi; ; ; ) was an expert on Biological Alchemy and was visited by the Elric Brothers in their search to restore their bodies.

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Shou has the appearance of a bespectacled middle-aged man, having little in the ways of muscle or height and his receding hairline leaving him only with a small amount of brown hair. He has only been shown wearing a single outfit, that of a faded green open collared shirt which he keeps the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a second black shirt underneath. When around others he maintains a mildly content expression, however in private he is often more downcast and anxious.[1]

Shou initially comes off as a soft-spoken man, often preferring to keep to himself rather then socialise. When having guests, he does put on a polite persona and appears to be quite kind. However as his daughter Nina had begun to notice, he was more often engrossed with his work then his family.

In reality, Shou suffered from a lack of confidence due to his research not producing any viable results and was a very desperate, selfish man. In order to get his qualification as a State Alchemist, he was willing to sacrifice his wife and later his own daughter in order to maintain it from fear of returning to a life of poverty and regret. After his atrocities were unveiled, Shou showed a notable lack of remorse for his actions and instead claimed it was merely the advancement of science, focused solely on remaining a State Alchemist.[1]

Two years ago, Shou had lived with his family in a life of poverty, a life that neither he or his wife could stand. When his wife threatened to leave him, Shou finally snapped and saw no other escape. Choosing to commit a taboo, he secretly transmuted his wife into the first successful chimera, an act that earned him his qualification as a State Alchemist and saved him and his daughter from their miserable life. However, due to being unable to reproduce his initial results without using a human life Shou failed his annual assessment and was put at risk of losing his qualification and funding if he failed the following one.[1]

During the Elric Brother's search for a way to restore their bodies, Roy Mustang directed them to a well known expert on Biological Alchemy, a man named Shou Tucker. Taken to his home, they find Shou living in a reasonably large house with his daughter Nina and their pet dog Alexander. Welcoming the brothers into their home, he apologises for the mess due to his wife leaving him. Over coffee, Mustang explains the brother's interest in transmuting living organisms and asks if they'd be able to see his work in the hopes of learning from it. Agreeing to let them see, Shou however would only do so if they fully explained their situation.

Shou showing the brothers and Mustang his laboratory.

Relenting, the brothers explain to him of their human transmutation experiment and the result of its failure. Appearing sympathetic to their past, Shou then takes the boys to his laboratory where he shows them a variety of animal experiments. Despite their amazement at his results, Shou insists that his work isn't going very well despite his namesake. Taking them to his library next, Shou allows them to read to their hearts content, an offer that the brothers take to heart immediately. Seeing the boys at work, Shou muses to himself that geniuses must really exist.

Shou embracing his daughter.

Later that evening when the Elric Brothers leave, Shou happily offered them the chance to return and continue researching. On the way out, the officer escorting the brothers then reminds Shou that his assessment was approaching, to which the alchemist responds he understood with a deadpan expression. Inside, Nina asks him what the assessment was. Explaining that it was an annual test to evaluate his research and findings, he reveals that the previous year's assessment went poorly, and as such was at risk of losing his state qualification. Reassuring him, Nina claims that he'll be fine as he's always studying in his laboratory. Embracing his daughter, Shou agrees that he only needs to try his best while thinking that it's his last chance.

Shou confiding in the brothers about his past.

The following day, Shou confides in the Elric Brothers and tells them of his unbearable past of poverty and misery. Telling them that it was because of this that his wife left him, it was only with creating the first chimera that he was able to save himself and his daughter from that life. Saying that he never wanted to return to those days, Nina intervenes and claims that she and Alexander will complain to the military leadership if they revoked his status. Seemingly comforted, Shou then promises to play with her tomorrow, something that she'd been wanting to do for a long time and instantly cheering her up.

The Elric Brothers finding Shou in his laboratory.

The next morning, the Elric Brothers discover the house to be unlocked and seemingly void of life. Venturing inwards, they discover Shou crouched over something in his laboratory. Noticing their presence, he looks up and tells them of his successful experiment, indicating the creature next to him. Introducing Edward to the chimera repeats his name and proving itself capable of speech. Amazed by the creature's ability of speech, Edward's surprise quickly changes to horror as the creature then calls him "Big brother". Asking Shou about his past once more, the young man calls him out by asking where Nina and Alexander were.

Edward throwing Shou against a wall.

Understanding he'd been caught out, Shou mentions that he hated sharp kids like Edward. With this he is instantly attacked by Edward, who moves to throw him against the wall and deduces what atrocities the man had committed. Defending himself by saying it was all in the name for advancing scientific knowledge, Shou then relates them to each other by reminding Edward about their human transmutation. Enraged by this, Edward then proceeds to repeatedly hit the man for trying to rationalise what he did, only to be saved from further injury by Alphonse's intervention.

Seeing her father beaten and bleeding, his mutated daughter then moves over asking her father if he was in pain. Dropped to the ground, Shou then pulls out his pocket watch and takes comfort in it, still believing he'll remain a State Alchemist after what he had done. Edward then kicks it away, asking Shou how he honestly can believe that while the man crawls after his watch.

Shou is confronted by Scar.

Later, the military comes in and secures the building and places Shou under house arrest, leaving him alone inside with his grotesque experiment. However he doesn't remain alone for long, as soon after the Elric Brothers leave he finds himself confronted by a lone man, Scar. Realising the man wasn't with the military, Shou asks who he was. Getting no reply, the invader approached the older man before grabbing his head and killing him, end the life of the shamed alchemist.[1]

Biological Alchemical Knowledge: Shou's knowledge in biology and science has allowed him to amass an entire library full of materials and research notes, the latter of which the Elric Brothers used to look into ways to restore their own bodies. Shou was also able to create a multitude of mutated animals with his knowledge in order to recreate his original chimera (without the use of human subjects) however in the end he was only able to achieve such a feat using his own family as experiments.[1]

Chimeric Alchemy: The focus of Shou's alchemic research, it was by successfully creating a chimera that could speak human language that he first got his state qualification. However, without using a human subject to provide the intelligence needed for speech, Shou's skill in this particular area of alchemy seems to be rather average as he could produce a proper chimera with animals alone. The results were that disappointing that the state threatened to revoke his status. His was however about to splice several creatures together without killing them, which does put him above other alchemists in this field.[1]

The Original Chimera.

Original Chimera: The reason for his qualification and initial success, the original chimera Shou created two years ago was made from the body of his former wife and that of an unknown animal. However this success was short lived, as the creature retained enough sentience to remember what it once was and what it had become, refusing to eat or drink and eventually dying. It's only known words were, "I want to die". [1]

The Nina/Alexander Chimera.

Nina/Alexander Chimera: Due to the threat of losing his position as a State Alchemist, Shou became desperate and chose to commit another taboo. Using his own daughter and pet dog, this creature was the result of the transmutation. Just like the Original Chimera, this creature was able to retain some awareness of its previous existence, however rather then becoming distraught like it's predecessor this creature retained Nina's positivity and innocence, and even her love for Shou. It's existence came to an end when Scar killed both Shou and itself, seeing it as a miserable abomination.[1]